Band Seal With Selectively Deployable Locking Member

ABSTRACT

A seal having wings provided that are adapted to engage a portion of a wrapped band. The wings have an enlarged distal end for engagement with an individual&#39;s thumb or finger to facilitate deflection of the same.

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/227,781, filed Jul. 22, 2009, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein. This application is also related to U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,484,274 and 4,896,402 and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0056145, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to a seal that is used in conjunction with a band to bind objects or to secure one object to another.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Systems for securing or bundling objects comprising a band and a locking device are known. Locking devices often comprise seals, clips, buckles, clamps, etc. (hereinafter “seal”). Seals are fixedly interconnected to one end of the band and typically include an opening for the insertion of a free end of the band. In operation, one end of the band is folded about the seal, the band is wrapped around an item and the free end of the band is placed through the opening in the seal, thereby interconnecting both ends of the band to the seal. The excess portion of the free end of the band is then cut and a portion of the free end is bent about the seal to secure the band to the seal, which maintains a predetermined band tension about the secured object(s).

Some seals of the prior art include a selectively positionable protrusion, i.e., a “wing”, that is used to secure the free portion of the band to the seal. The wings are selectively bendable and secure the free end of the band adjacent to an exterior surface of the seal. Seals of this type are commonly used for low tension, light duty applications, for example, to interconnect insulation around a pipe. After a predetermined tension is applied to the band, the free end is folded over a top portion of the seal, the wings are folded over the folded portion of the band, and the excess portion of the free end extending beyond the wings is cut from the band. Any portion of the free end that extends past the folded wings may be curled back over the wings to enhance the engagement of the band to the seal.

In order to ensure that the wings are folded correctly, and to ensure the band is properly secured relative to the seal so that the band does not lose tension, it is often specified that the wings are bent with a specialized tool or a hammer. Often, however, installers attempt to fold the wing over the band by hand to save time or because the items to which the band/seal are interconnected may be damaged by tools. It is thus desirable to provide a seal with easily foldable or deployable wings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is one aspect of the present invention to provide a seal having wings that are folded without tools. One embodiment of the present invention employs wings that may be manually folded over a folded, free end of a band while maintaining the shape and performance of the seal when tension is applied to the band. The wings of some embodiments of the present invention are over 40% easier to deform than those of the prior art seals. In addition, the wings of some embodiments of the present invention have a rounded shape having smooth corners as opposed to sharp corners that help prevent user discomfort, pain or injury. Finally, the seals described herein are stronger than those of the prior art such that the seal requires 25% more force to deform.

It is another aspect of the present invention to provide a seal adapted for interconnection with a band, comprising: a first portion; a second portion separated from the first portion that defines a space adapted for receiving an end of a band; and at least one wing protruding from the second portion that is adapted to be folded over a portion of the band, the wing having a distal end possessing a rounded shape such that the width of the at least one wing is not continuous. The wing of this embodiment of the present invention is folded upon an application of about 8 to 10 lbf to the distal end of the wing. The wing of this embodiment also has a minimum width of about 0.184 inches and the wing has a minimum width of 0.068 inches.

It is yet another aspect of the present invention to provide a seal having a first portion spaced from a second portion, the second portion having a first wing and a second wing that are capable of folding adjacent to the first portion, the improvement comprising: the first wing and the second wing having distal ends possessing a rounded shape such that the widths of the first wing and the second wing are not continuous.

It is still yet another aspect of the present invention to provide a system for binding objects comprising: a band having a first end and a second end; a seal secured to the first end of the band having a first portion, a second portion separated from the first portion that defines a space adapted for receiving an end of a band, a first wing and a second wing that extends from second portion that are capable of folding over a portion of the band, the first wing and the second wing having distal ends possessing a rounded shape such that the widths of the first wing and the second wing are not continuous.

It is another aspect of the present invention to provide a method of binding objects, comprising: providing a seal having a first portion, a second portion separated from the first portion that defines a space adapted for receiving an end of a band, a first wing and a second wing that extends from second portion that are capable of folding over a portion of the band, the first wing and the second wing having distal ends having a rounded shape such that the widths of the first wing and the second wing are not continuous; providing a band having a first end and a second end; positioning the first end of the band within the space; folding the first end of the band about the second portion of the seal; wrapping the band about the objects; inserting the second end of the band within the space; tensioning the band; folding the second end of the band about the first portion of the seal; folding the first wing and the second wing over the second end of the band; and cutting excess from the second end of the band. It is contemplated that the wings of this method be folded without tools. This method may further include curling the cut end of the band to engage at least a portion of the first wing or the second wing.

The Summary of the Invention is neither intended nor should it be construed as being representative of the full extent and scope of the present invention. Moreover, references made herein to “the present invention” or aspects thereof should be understood to mean certain embodiments of the present invention and should not necessarily be construed as limiting all embodiments to a particular description. The present invention is set forth in various levels of detail in the Summary of the Invention as well as in the attached drawings and the Detailed Description of the Invention and no limitation as to the scope of the present invention is intended by either the inclusion or non-inclusion of elements, components, etc. in this Summary of the Invention. Additional aspects of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the Detail Description, particularly when taken together with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the general description of the invention given above and the detailed description of the drawings given below, serve to explain the principles of these inventions.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a seal of the prior art;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional side elevation view of the seal and a band of the prior art;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional side elevation view similar to that of FIG. 2 subsequent to folding wings over a folded free end of the band;

FIG. 4 is a three dimensional displacement model of the seal of the prior art depicted with a longitudinal load acting thereon;

FIG. 5 is a three dimensional displacement model of the seal of the prior art depicted with a transverse load acting on a wing thereof;

FIG. 6 is a rear perspective view of one embodiment of the present invention that employs a slot on the internal, second portion thereof;

FIG. 7 is a front perspective view of one embodiment of the present invention that employs a slot on the external, first portion thereof;

FIG. 8 is a side elevation of one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a side elevation view of an alternate embodiment similar to that shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the present invention that employs a lip;

FIG. 12 is a side elevation view of FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a top plan view of FIG. 11;

FIG. 14 is a three dimensional displacement model of the seal of FIG. 11 depicted with a longitudinal load acting thereon;

FIG. 15 is a three dimensional displacement model of the seal of FIG. 11 depicted with a transverse load acting on the wing thereof;

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention wherein the external, first portion of the seal includes a stiffening member;

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention wherein the external, first portion of the seal includes a stiffening member;

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention employing stiffening members on the external, first portion and the internal, lower portion thereof;

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention employing stiffening members on the external, first portion and the internal, lower portion thereof;

FIG. 20 top perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 21 is a bottom perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 22 is a top perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 23 is a bottom perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 24 is a top perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 25 is a top perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention that employs a teeth on the first, upper surface thereof; and

FIG. 26 is a table showing the performance of the seals of embodiments of the present invention compared to seals of the prior art.

To aid in the understanding of one embodiment of the present invention, the following list of components and associated numbering found in the drawings is provided herein:

# Component 2 Band 6 Seal 10 First portion 14 Second portion 18 Opening 22 Retaining portion 26 Wing 30 Free end 34 Folded portion 38 Cut end 42 Slot 46 Lobe 50 Distal end 54 Proximal end 58 Lip 60 Leading edge 62 Rib 66 Tooth 70 Cut out 74 Teeth

It should be understood that the drawings are not necessarily to scale. In certain instances, details that are not necessary for an understanding of the invention or that render other details difficult to perceive may have been omitted. It should be understood, of course, that the invention is not necessarily limited to the particular embodiments illustrated herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to FIGS. 1-5, a system employing a band 2 and seal 6 of the prior art is shown. The seal 6 employs a first portion 10 that is spaced from a second portion 14 to provide an opening 18 to receive the band 2. The band 2 includes a retaining portion 22 that cooperates with the second portion 14 of the seal 6 to prevent the movement of the seal 6 in one direction. The seal 6 also includes at least one wing 26 that extends from the second portion 14 that is bent inwardly to capture a folded free end 30 of the band 2 as shown in FIG. 3.

In operation, the band 2 is placed in the seal 6 with the retaining portion 22 maintaining the seal 6 with respect to the band 2. One of skill in the art will appreciate that the retaining portion 22 may be formed prior to inserting the band 2 into the seal 6 or after the free end of the band 2 is inserted within the seal 6. The band 2 is then wrapped around a pipe, for example, and the free end is then passed through the opening 18 of the seal at least once more such that a portion of the band rests on, or lies adjacent to, the portion of the band initially located within the seal 6. The band 2 is then folded over the first portion 10 of the seal 6 in a direction opposite the retaining portion 22 of the band 2. The wings 26 are then folded over the free end 30 of the band 2 to create a folded portion 34 that selectively engages the folded free end of the band 30. The band 2 is cut adjacent to the folded wings 34 to remove the excess portions of the band 2. The cut end 38 may be folded upwardly relative to the deployed wings 26 to engage the folded wings 34 to additionally secure the band 2 relative to the seal 6.

The seal 6 possesses a first portion 10 that is divided by a slot 42. The slot 42 is formed as a result of bending a metal blank to provide a continuous second portion 14. Alternatively, the slot may be located on the second portion of the seal 6. One skilled in the art will appreciate that the seal 6 of the many embodiments of the present invention may be altered in size and in shape.

FIGS. 4 and 5 are three dimensional displacement models of the prior art seal 6 shown in FIGS. 1-3 wherein the arrows indicate an applied load. FIG. 4 shows displacements on the seal 6 when it is subjected to a compressive, longitudinal load of 300 lbf. The maximum displacement in this example is about 0.71 in and the maximum stress, which occurs in the rounded corner between the wing 26 and the second portion 14, is about 1.9×106 psi. FIG. 5 shows stresses on the seal 6 when the at least one tab is exposed to a lateral load of 10 lbf. The maximum displacement in this example is about 0.0018 in and the maximum stress, which occurs at the narrow potion of the wing, is about 86,000 psi. It will be appreciated that portions of the seal adjacent to the wings experience stress levels higher than the yield stress of the parent metal, thereby allowing the wings to deform permanently as shown. The model data generally corresponds with the data of FIG. 27 that shows that embodiments of the present invention require less force to deform the seals of the prior art, which will be described in further detail below.

Referring now to FIGS. 6-15, one embodiment of the present invention is shown that includes a seal 6 with wings 26 having enlarged lobes 46 at their distal ends 50. More specifically, the wings 26 of embodiments of the present invention have a proximal end 54 that is associated with the second portion 14 of the seal 6 and a distal end 50 that is adapted to be engaged by a user's finger or hand. The wings 26 possess a shape such that engagement with a user's finger allows for wing deformation with less applied force than that required to deform or bend the design shown in FIGS. 1-5. Further, the wings 26 do not have sharp corners and, thus, help eliminate user discomfort and injury. The shape of the wings also saves materials and costs while maintaining locking performance of the seal. One skilled in the art will appreciate that the lobe 46 and wing 26 may be fabricated in other sizes and shapes as illustrated by comparison of FIGS. 8 and 9. For a given thickness, the minimum width of the wing (“x”) will dictate the ability to deform the wing 26. The minimum width (“x”) is less than the maximum width of the wing (“y”) such that the width of the wing is non continuous (see, for example, FIG. 12). In one embodiment the width of the wings 26 is about 0.068 in. The slot 42 may be located on the first portion 10 as shown in FIG. 7, or on the second portion, as shown in FIG. 6. Positioning of the slot 42 is dependent on the method of the machining a blank that will become the seal 6.

FIG. 10 shows an alternate embodiment of the present invention that employs wings 26 of a different shape. The wings 26 generally have an hour-glass shape that further reduces the width of the wings at location “x” to facilitate deformation.

FIGS. 11-15 are views of yet another embodiment of the present invention that employs a wing 26 with a lobe 46 at its distal end 50. The seal 6 shown includes a slot 42 integrated into the first portion 10 thereof. In addition, the second portion 14 includes a lip 58 or extension that allows relief for the band as the tool folds it over the seal.

FIGS. 14 and 15 are computer models showing displacement on the seal when it is exposed to an external load. FIG. 14 shows a seal 6 that has been exposed to a compressive, longitudinal load of about 300 lb_(f). The load squeezes the slot together near a leading edge 60 of the seal 6 and causes the seal to compress about 0.025 of an inch. Thus, a maximum stress of about 497,000 psi is experienced at the leading edge 60. FIG. 15 shows a lateral load acting on a wing 26 that bends the wing inwardly. The load applied in this example is about 10 lb_(f), which is about 50-65% less than the force to bend the wings of the prior art seal. The maximum stress experience in this example is about 221,000 psi and occurs at the minimum width of the wing “x.”

Referring now to FIGS. 16-19, a seal 6 having stiffening ribs 62 integrated into the first portion 10 and/or the second portion 14 is shown. The ribs 62 may extend the length of the first portion 10 (FIG. 16) or the second portion 14 or terminate within the first portion 10 or the second portion 14. The ribs 62 help stiffen the first portion 10, for example, despite the presence of the slot 42 so that the seal 6 resists bending or buckling when an associated band is tensioned. One of skill in the art will appreciate that the slots 42 may be located on either the top portion 10 or bottom portion 14 of the seal 6. The ribs 62 may be longitudinally disposed (FIG. 16, for example) or laterally disposed (FIG. 17, for example).

Referring now to FIGS. 20-24, yet another embodiment of the present invention is shown that includes a stiffening rib 62 on the top portion of the seal. The rib 62 may be “C”-shaped where the ends thereof are associated with the leading edge 60 of the seal 6, for example (FIG. 22), 6 or terminate within the first portion 10. (FIG. 20). In addition, these embodiments of the present invention include a bottom portion 14 that has a tooth 66 for selective interconnection and engagement into a matching cut out 70 on the bottom portion 14. The tooth 66 helps prevent lateral expansion of the seal 6 when subjected to a force. The tooth 66 may have rounded corners (FIG. 23) or jagged corners (FIG. 21) without departing from the scope of the present invention.

FIG. 25 shows a seal 6 having a first surface 10 with a plurality of teeth 74 is shown. The teeth 74 dig into the excess portion of the band (see FIG. 3) to help secure the band relative to the seal.

Referring now to FIG. 26, comparison of embodiments of the present invention with seals of the prior art are shown. More specifically, prior art seals of Gerrard and RPR, were compared with the seal of one embodiment of the present invention to show relative performance. The “maximum clamping” force refers to the amount of load applied to the band. “Retained” force refers to the amount of clamping force that remains after the seal is interconnected to the band and the excess band is removed. “Loop tensile” force refers to the maximum force applied radially before the band clamp fails, either by breaking the lock, yielding the band so it no longer holds any force, or slipping the band out of the seal. Embodiments of the present invention possess comparable retained force, maximum clamping force and loop tensile force to seals of the prior art. However, the wings of some embodiments of the present invention are deformed with significantly less force than those of the prior art. For example, the wings of one embodiment of the present invention are deflected with about 40-65% less force than the wings of the prior art. The force to deform the seals, which affects its holding performance, disclosed herein is higher as well. For example, one embodiment requires about 25-50% more load to deform over the seals of the prior art.

While various embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail, it is apparent that modifications and alterations of those embodiments will occur to those skilled in the art. However, it is to be expressly understood that such modifications and alterations are within the scope and spirit of the present invention, as set forth in the following claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A seal adapted for interconnection with a band, comprising: a first portion; a second portion separated from said first portion that defines a space adapted for receiving an end of a band; and at least one wing protruding from said second portion that is adapted to be folded over a portion of the band, said wing having a distal end possessing a rounded shape such that the width of said at least one wing is not continuous.
 2. The seal of claim 1, wherein said at least one wing is folded upon an application of about 10 lb_(f) to the distal end of said wing.
 3. The seal of claim 1, wherein the distal end of said at least one wing has a width of about 0.184 inches and the wing has a minimum width of 0.068 inches.
 4. The seal of claim 1, wherein said first portion or said second portion includes a slot spanning the length thereof.
 5. The seal of claim 1, wherein said at least one wing has an hourglass shape.
 6. The seal of claim 1, wherein at least one of said first portion and said second portion includes a stiffening member.
 7. A seal having a first portion spaced from a second portion, said second portion having a first wing and a second wing that are capable of folding adjacent to the first portion, the improvement comprising: said first wing and said second wing having distal ends possessing a rounded shape such that the widths of said first wing and said second wing are not continuous.
 8. The seal of claim 7, wherein said first wing and said second wing is folded upon an application of about 10 lb_(f) to the distal ends thereof.
 9. The seal of claim 7, wherein the distal ends of said first wing and said second wing have a width of about 0.184 inches and said first wing and said second wing have a minimum width of about 0.68 inches.
 10. The seal of claim 7, wherein said first portion or said second portion includes a slot spanning the length thereof.
 11. The seal of claim 7, wherein said first wing and said second wing have an hourglass shape.
 12. The seal of claim 7, wherein at least one of said first portion and said second portion possess a stiffening member.
 13. A system for binding objects comprising: a band having a first end and a second end; a seal secured to said first end of said band having a first portion, a second portion separated from said first portion that defines a space adapted for receiving an end of a band, a first wing and a second wing that extends from second portion that are capable of folding over a portion of the band, said first wing and said second wing having distal ends possessing a rounded shape such that the widths of said first wing and said second wing are not continuous.
 14. The system of claim 13, wherein said first end of said band is folded about said second portion of said seal such that the remaining portions of said band are positioned in said space and said second end of said band extend from a leading edge of said seal that is located on an opposite end of said seal away from said first and second wings.
 15. The system of claim 13, wherein said second end of said band is folded over said first portion and wherein said first wing and said second wing are positioned over said second portion.
 16. A method of binding objects, comprising: providing a seal having a first portion, a second portion separated from said first portion that defines a space adapted for receiving an end of a band, a first wing and a second wing that extends from second portion that are capable of folding over a portion of the band, said first wing and said second wing having distal ends having a rounded shape such that the widths of said first wing and said second wing are not continuous; providing a band having a first end and a second end; positioning said first end of said band within said space; folding said first end of said band about said second portion of said seal; wrapping said band about the objects; inserting said second end of said band within said space; tensioning said band; folding said second end of said band about said first portion of said seal; folding said first wing and said second wing over said second end of said band; and cutting excess from said second end of said band.
 17. The method of claim 16, further comprising: curling the cut end of said band to engage at least a portion of said first wing or said second wing.
 18. The method of claim 16, wherein folding of said first wing and said second wing is achieved without tools.
 19. The method of claim 16, wherein folding of said first wing and said second wing is achieved by applying about 8 lb_(f) thereto. 